John Katko is Measuring the Drapes but Still Silent on the Issues

John Katko says he has already picked out his new Congressional office even though he still hasn’t made up his mind about how he would vote on any major policy issues like the Republican budget, overturning Roe v. Wade, or equal pay for equal work. At a meeting last night Katko was already measuring the drapes and boasting about his “new” Congressional office telling the Citizen: “I already have it picked out.”

Yet while Katko is busy measuring the drapes, Central New Yorkers still know very little about his positions on issues other than the fact that former Tea Party Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle “planted the seed” for him to run, that Katko “may share some Tea Party values,” and he says he is a “social conservative.”

“While John Katko is busy measuring the drapes, Central New Yorkers are still wondering where he stands on the issues,” said Marc Brumer of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Instead of spending time picking out his new digs, John Katko should admit how he would vote on major issues like the Republican budget, overturning Roe v. Wade, and equal pay for equal work. The only thing Central New Yorkers know about him is that Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle planted the seed for his candidacy, that he shares Tea Party values, and that he is a social conservative. John Katko won’t take a stand because he knows that if he comes clean, voters will reject his out-of-touch agenda.”

BACKGROUND:

John Katko says that he hasn’t read Paul Ryan’s Budget plan and if Central New Yorkers want to know how he will vote on federal legislation, they will need to vote him into Congress first. When asked about his position on the Ryan Budget Katko said he hadn’t read the plan and refused to say how he would vote saying, “unless and until I get into Congress, I’m not going to start issuing opinions…” [Auburn Citizen, 5/5/14]

Katko says he has already picked out his Congressional office. In June 2014, when asked at a town hall meeting if he would keep a district office in Cayuga County, Katko said “I already have it picked out, so yes.” [Auburn Citizen, 6/11/14]

Katko shares Tea Party Values. In June 2014, Eagle News Online reported that, while Katko might share some Tea Party Values, he didn’t consider himself a radical: “Katko may share some Tea Party values, such as lower taxes, shrinking big government bureaucracies and entitlement programs and opposing deficit spending and borrowing from foreign banks, but he doesn’t see such positions as extreme.” [Eagle News Online, 6/9/14]

Katko says he’s a social and fiscal conservative. In March 2014 Katko told CNYcentral news “I’m a social conservative and a fiscal conservative, but I’m also a pragmatist.” [CNYcentral.com, 3/3/14]

Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle “planted the seed” for John Katko’s run for Congress. John Katko appeared on former Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle’s radio show and when asked why he was running for Congress, Katko confirmed that had had a conversation with Buerkle “who planted the seed” to get him to run. [The Ann Marie Buerkle Show – WSYR 570, 03/08/14]